Former Manchester United and Sunderland hero applied for vacant manager post

Phil Smith

Dwight Yorke has said that he had 'a conversation' with the Sunderland hierarchy about taking over from David Moyes.

The former Manchester United star spent three years on Wearside at the end of his career, primarily used by Roy Keane as a central midfielder.

He helped the Black Cats surge towards the Championship title and says that experience would have helped him.

He told the Birmingham Mail: "They’ve got a great support and it’s a club I’ve played for so I can understand what it takes. I have the experience of playing in the Championship for six months and winning that league so I know what it takes.

“People say you need loads of experience at a different level and all that kind of business but you look at the lifespan of a manager and it’s not very long anymore.

“All the years I played football, you can be an experienced manager or not an experienced manager but if the players don’t buy into what you say you are never going to go anywhere.”

Yorke, who expressed an interest in the job even before David Moyes departed at the end of the season, admitted that the ongoing uncertainty over the ownership of the club is affecting the search for a new boss.

He said: "I tried to get the Sunderland job recently and have been very lucky to get a conversation but that’s all it is.

“With the owners looking to sell and a consortium looking to buy the club, there’s always that… [uncertainty].”